Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Leeds – Stick or Twist Pub

    Leeds – Stick or Twist Pub

    The Stick or Twist had been a JD Wetherspoon operated pub in Leeds from 1997 until 2018, when it was demolished to build student accommodation. The pub chain had a long lease which meant they were able to negotiate a new pub at the site as part of the new building complex. That opened a few weeks ago, in mid-July 2021, after a £1.8 million spend on the interior fittings. It’s apparently larger than the old pub, which I hadn’t visited, with a bigger external area as well for customers to enjoy the outside (for those people who like that sort of thing).

    It’s all clean and organised, but I thought quite bland for a JD Wetherspoon outlet, although they’re limited by the quite bland building they’re in. Not many of the tables had access to power points, which is usually a feature of a renovation by the company, with only a limited number of booth style seats as well. The section at the front has mostly high seating (which is what I prefer) and the section at the side has mostly table seating, so there’s a bit of a choice for customers which is handy.

    I ordered the Blonde Witch from Moorhouse’s Brewery from Burnley and I used the app to do that. That probably wasn’t the best idea, it took them 14 minutes to get the beer from the bar to my table, but I wasn’t in a rush. My table didn’t have a number on it and so I had ordered it to the table next to me, which was empty. The staff member seemed just a little bit put out at that, asking why I had used a different table’s number. The beer was quite bland and lacking any real flavour, but it was at the appropriate temperature and well-kept so it was about as good as it was going to get.

    Anyway, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the transformation and I’m sure that many in Leeds are glad to get their pub back again. To me though, it all felt a bit generic and soulless, albeit at least clean and tidy. It’s good that pubs are starting to open though, even if this one was replacing a location that had closed.

  • LNER : York to London King’s Cross

    LNER : York to London King’s Cross

    This is really handy when you’ve looking for platform 5 (I was on platform 6 at the time).

    Anyway, this was the journey I took a few days ago from York to London King’s Cross. I’ll let the guard’s words speak for themselves about the state of this journey:

    “I really wish I hadn’t been on this service, I wasn’t meant to be on it, I’m angry that I am on it”.

    I certainly felt for him, LNER had served him badly, let alone the customers who had paid to be on it.

    It is possible to try and work out where to stand on the platform by following the little code at the bottom. No-one bothered judging by the rushing around from place to place when the train arrived, it’s all a bit complex.

    The LNER Azuma train sweeps into York. In fairness to LNER, these are perfectly nice trains, or would be if they were operated by a proper company.

    I’m normally more polite, but LNER really can’t run a rail service very well, the service is ridden with managerial incompetence.

    They insist that customers book a seat as part of the reservation system. This is so often a policy set for disaster, as LNER don’t bother putting anyone on the trains to enforce this policy, they just dump that problem on the guard. And on this occasion, he was busy dealing with the British Transport Police who were lifting a customer off the service. Nor indeed is the seat reservation policy enforceable anyway. My reserved seat was taken, so I just sat nearby. The problem is that this happened to nearly every customer. We had this ridiculous situation that some seats were kept free as customers thought others would be sitting in them (as the sign by the seat said they were reserved), whilst other customers gave up and sat in the aisle (as visible in the above photo).

    This would be much easier if LNER did what most other rail companies and just make reserving a seat optional when buying a ticket. I don’t want to reserve a seat, I wish they’d stop making me as otherwise I can’t buy a ticket. If someone wants to reserve one, then let them. LNER’s system just forces customers to cram into carriages hunting for their seat, which isn’t ideal during Covid times. I suspect there was a carriage somewhere on the train where there was open seating and there weren’t any reservations, but I have no idea where that was.

    Anyway, the guard put an announcement over the tannoy that British Transport Police had already been called to the train on two occasions and he was now dealing with a third problem. The poor guard sounded fed up and he vaguely attempted to check tickets, but was continually called to deal with seating issues due to LNER’s hopeless reservation policy. Drunken customers were also making his job harder and he reminded them over the tannoy that he would ask the British Transport Police to board again if necessary. He also suggested that customers text British Transport Police themselves if they couldn’t find him on the train. This announcement was made when we had just left York railway station, so it hardly felt a friendly welcome to LNER.

    As an aside, to be honest, people don’t really need to buy tickets for this service (although I’m too well behaved to risk that) as there is no gate line at York and the one at King’s Cross wasn’t enforced.

    The poor staff in the catering section were trying to walk up and down the train to supply food and drink as LNER have this great idea that customers can order at their seat. The system didn’t work as the staff couldn’t find the customer who had ordered it and they had to battle to get past the customers sitting in the aisle.

    As this journey unfolded, there was more excitement just before Peterborough, someone had started smoking in one of the on-board toilets. This positively annoyed the guard who made another tannoy announcement about the situation, evidently just entirely fed up with this service.

    And into King’s Cross, admittedly on-time. The guard must have been relieved that the service was over. I certainly was. The rail network perhaps needs to consider some significant modernisation to its processes as otherwise I suspect more people will just give up and start flying rather than getting the train. Or perhaps they could let British Airways take over the East Coast Mainline……..

    I accept this all sounds a bit ranty, but, to be fair, the guard was too and I agree with him.

  • London – Barking and Dagenham (Borough of) – Travelodge Barking

    London – Barking and Dagenham (Borough of) – Travelodge Barking

    The cheapest accommodation option (or at least the cheapest that I considered safe) in London was the Travelodge Barking, a hotel that I’ve never stayed at before. The frontage is certainly colourful and it’s above a Tesco Express store for anyone who wants some snacks or the like. I arrived just before 23:00, which is never really an ideal time to arrive at a hotel on a Saturday night, but all was well. Other than I managed to get behind some other customer’s crisis at reception, but that was soon resolved. I always have to try and stand in a way that makes me not look annoyed whilst I have to wait for staff to deal with crisis matters like this (as it’s not their fault), despite being slightly annoyed that I am having to wait.

    The room, all clean and tidy. Travelodge are consistently decent in terms of their accommodation, there was nothing here for me to be disappointed by. The only limitation for me is how far the plugs are away from the bed, but Travelodge seem to be fixing that when they modernise the rooms.

    I can’t recall having an electric window in a hotel room before, but because it was recessed some way back there was a little switch to open and shut it. I like having an open window, although it meant listening to some rather drunken conversations outside which kept me awake because I was insistent on listening in and not missing out on anything interesting. The temperature in the room was fine and there was a fan available for anyone who was too hot.

    One of the harder to read fire escape plans that I’ve seen, but I decided not to let this bother me. The reviews for the hotel aren’t exactly ideal, although by far the lowest rating on Google is for the location. I’m not sure what the hotel is meant to do about that given that it’s two minutes away from Barking railway and underground station, but there we go.

    One guest stayed at the hotel before her wedding and was disappointed that there was no air conditioning, car parking or intercoms in the room (I assume that’s a phone). I can sense the disappointment for anyone staying in a Travelodge as a pre-wedding night treat…… There was another guest annoyed that they had to wait five minutes for a receptionist who told them to wait until the check-in time when they arrived early, but that definitely comes with the territory of a Travelodge for those who don’t want to pay for an early check-in.

    Anyway, I liked this hotel, the room was just over £30 for the night and everything was quiet, clean and organised, with the staff member being friendly (although she looked exhausted trying to do everything herself). The hotel could do with something of a refurbishment of the public areas, but it was all still serviceable. If the Ibis down the road is a bit expensive, I’ll likely stay here instead in future.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Marble Arch Mound

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Marble Arch Mound

    I’m a bit behind with my blog efforts at the moment, but I’m now in London after a successful few days in York at the LDWA NEC meeting. But more about all that in other posts.

    It’s fair to say that this project at Marble Arch on Oxford Street in London has been causing some controversy recently. It’ll an artificial construct which is there for just a few months until January 2022 and it’s effectively lots of scaffolding with some earth dumped on top. It’s quite unpopular judging by the local press, but I really like it, I think it’s quirky. And, I’m an expert in hills as everyone knows as I’ve summited Beeston Bump in Norfolk.

    The opening was a bit of a disaster and everyone was refunded their admission fee money. Given that, the nice thing about this is that the mound has been made free of charge for everyone in August, so I took advantage of that little deal. I had to pre-book on-line yesterday for a visit today, but there was lots of availability.

    The ticket checking process was all a bit informal, with two young team members jostling over who could get my QR code to scan first. I quite liked the informal approach, although I suspect they’ll get some complaints if they’re not careful from some grumpier people. The security process was also informal and the team members conversational, although this a project that is heavily overdone with staff at the moment.

    I started my ascent and it was raining, which wasn’t ideal if I’m being honest. I wouldn’t say that the steps were slippery, but the entire scaffolding structure is visible through the gaps and I didn’t like that as I’m scared of heights. But, I remained very brave as everyone who knows me would imagine….

    The trek up the scaffolding continues and it’s 25 metres to the top (so, that’s nearly a mountain).

    The views now start to become apparent. There have been some complaints that the views aren’t very exciting, but to slightly misquote one of my favourite BBC comedies:

    “Well, may I ask what you expected to see from Marble Arch? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically?”

    More views from the top. There was a sheer drop on just one side, and I didn’t dare poke my phone through the fencing at that point in case I dropped it and it smacked onto someone’s head (likely breaking their head and my phone). Otherwise I thought that it was a different perspective of this part of London.

    There is going to be an exhibition reached by going down those stairs, but it’s closed at the moment. The popularity of the summit is visible here, with two team members sheltering in the rain.

    Stuart Love, the Chief Executive of Westminster City Council, said:

    “Now is the time to bring the buzz back to central London and to see people visiting the West End again. We are working hard to resolve the outstanding issues and create an attraction worthy of our fantastic city. It’s going to look great and be an amazing experience once we’ve got it ready!”

    And time for the descent. My biggest complaint about this arrangement is that it’s not there long enough, it’s being taken down in a few months. So that’s a lot of resources to build a big fake hill and then take it down again, without any real meaning. It was meant to increase the number of people visiting the area, although I’m really not entirely sure that Oxford Street has many problems with that. I’m not negative about what they’ve done though, I like it as it’s quirky, it’s a talking point and I can imagine that kids will like it. I’m quite pleased to have experienced it and hope that it increases a bit in popularity over the next few months.

  • Leeds – BrewDog White Cloth Hall

    Leeds – BrewDog White Cloth Hall

    Having visited the Leeds Brewdog North Street bar for unlimited chicken wings I thought that for the sake of completeness I’d visit the other Brewdog in the city as well. That’s all handy given that I’m working my way through all of the Brewdogs in the UK, although they’ve just opened another one in London as soon as I’ve completed that little challenge.

    This Brewdog is located in the historic White Cloth Hall, this one traded in undyed clothing and another hall dealt with, well, dyed clothing. All very precise and a reminder that the woolen and clothing industries powered Leeds financially for many centuries. The bar opened in 2013, so it is one of the earlier Brewdog locations and the company notes “we had to fight for the right to bring BrewDog Leeds to life in the White Cloth Hall”. Sounds an exciting back story….

    The inside of the Brewdog and there was a friendly staff member at the door ready to welcome guests. I think he was actually just a bit bored and thought he might as well standing there greeting customers, as it wasn’t that busy. It felt a friendly environment though, although there’s a more limited food menu than the other outlet.

    The beer fridge. Apparently there’s an Nintendo 64 system upstairs for guests, although I didn’t go looking for it to find out for sure.

    There were a few fruit beers made jointly between Buxton Brewery and Omnipollo, but I opted for the original double blueberry ice cream one. This had no shortage of blueberry flavour which is pleasant upfront although just very slightly too tart at the end, but still a very decent beer. I think some other Brewdogs are serving this drink with ice cream, which sounds a bit too decadent for me.

    This is the Milk Shake from Wiper and True brewery from Bristol, given that name from the milk that goes into this stout to add to the creaminess. I had only moderate expectations for this one, but it was a combination of rich and creamy with a pleasant aftertaste, so it was better than I had expected.

    As for the reviews, I’m unsure about this one which said “I just ate dog food”. I’m not sure if that’s a rude comment about the food, or whether he ate one of the dog biscuits that I think Brewdog supply. I would have quite liked to have seen more information about that though. Nearly everything else is very positive, so they’re doing something right.

    So, that’s another Brewdog visited alongside the many Good Beer Guide pubs that I went to in Leeds, and all of the pubs were a delight (well, a couple of the Wetherspoons were a bit average). This bar had friendly service, a clean environment and decent beers, so nothing for me to complain about.

  • Leeds – BrewDog North Street

    Leeds – BrewDog North Street

    There are two Brewdog outlets in Leeds and this is the North Street location.

    The ground floor of the Brewdog, which isn’t the largest of locations, but the window arrangement makes it bright and airy. The air conditioning seemed effective as it wasn’t too hot inside, otherwise I might have been less pleased about the situation. I also liked the number of power points located around the bar, which was quite handy, it was a modern feeling environment.

    The beer board and the central bar. There was one staff member when I went into the pub, but he was friendly and engaging, being knowledgeable about the beer options. Another staff member was visible soon after, but it remained quiet during my visit so I’m not sure how much money this Brewdog is actually making at the moment.

    The downstairs, which with its slight damp felt like a proper cellar, had shuffleboard tables in it. These seemed quite popular during my visit (I took the photo during a dull in proceedings), they no longer charge to use them and a few people came in to book times. Brewdog have these in a couple of their London pubs as well, but I’ve never quite got round to fully working out the rules.

    Although they’re all switched off at the moment, there were a number of arcade games as well in the basement.

    I only had one drink here, which was the Berry & Cherry Trifle by the Mad Scientist brewery from Budapest. I remembered the Blackcurrant Trifle that I had at Brewdog Brixton a few weeks ago and so had high expectations of this beer. I wasn’t let down with this one, there was a noticeable aroma of strawberry from the beer but the main taste was from the cherries, with a rich aftertaste of berries. I liked how subtle this beer was with the various flavours that it had within it and I decided that it also went well with the chicken wings.

    The beer list, as would be expected from Brewdog, was sizeable and there were a range of different beer styles. For those who really couldn’t find anything they liked, there are also a fair number of cans in the fridges.

    It’s Wednesday, so I had reserved a place for Wings Wednesday. They didn’t bring a larger portion for the first round as usual, but they were one of the most pro-active at offering more wings that I’ve had. I think I went for one round of five chicken wings more than I really needed, but they were a handy little snack (well, less snack, more complete meal or indeed two complete meals by the time that I’d finished).

    The reviews of the bar are generally very positive, although I noted the 1/5 star rating as “I paid £4.85 for a pint of trendy ale!” as if that’s a lot of money for something decent. Anyway, I liked this bar, it was laid-back, informal and friendly. I had already tried many of the beers that they were stocking, but the Berry & Cherry Trifle was a decadent little treat here, so happy with that. And I also enjoyed the several rounds of chicken wings, so all really rather lovely.

  • Leeds – Vocation at Assembly Underground

    Leeds – Vocation at Assembly Underground

    This was the final visit on my little tour yesterday of some Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds. It’s a quirky location and I’m not sure that I would have found out about it without CAMRA’s recommendation as it’s located in a cellar where the first visible venues inside are food outlets. It’s actually like a little food court, with Vocation providing the bar section of the whole arrangement.

    As an aside, there’s some heritage to the building that the bar is located in.

    This isn’t the sharpest of photos unfortunately, but this is the main seating area and the food venues can be seen to one side. There are other seating areas available, including within Vocation itself.

    This is Vocation’s bar area at the rear of the basement.

    Grrrr, this photo isn’t as clear as I wanted either, but the beers are listed on screens above the bar. I asked the member of bar staff about what dark beers they had, with four options being suggested, which is an excellent choice and it’s rare that I’m offered that many to pick from. Indeed, they try and have fifty different beers on, so I can see why they’re in the Good Beer Guide with that effort.

    I went for a third of a pint of the rather decadent Ecstasy of Gold from Turning Point Brew Co. I’d had their Mile Zero just a couple of hours before, so it wasn’t a hard decision for me to drink another of their dark beers. And this one was also brilliant as far as I was concerned, smooth, rich, packed with vanilla and chocolate flavour. It was a heavy hit and so it took me a while to sip my way through the drink (which was overpoured so that it was nearer to a half pint, something I was pleased to note) but it remained as enjoyable at the end as at the beginning. I’m becoming something of a fan of this brewery, they definitely know what they’re doing.

    I liked this whole set-up and some of the food options looked really quite decent. It wasn’t very busy, but I can’t imagine Tuesdays often are, but I can imagine at weekends there’s an entirely different environment here. Some of the food venues apparently close when it’s not very busy, although this isn’t ideal if it means that customers can’t rely on food being available here. The Vocation bar is positively reviewed and although the drinks aren’t the cheapest, there is such an extensive range that they perhaps justify that slight extra cost. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, with the whole atmosphere feeling comfortable. I’m definitely pleased that this one is in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Leeds – The Cuthbert Brodrick

    Leeds – The Cuthbert Brodrick

    I’m still on a little pub crawl of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds, I’ve popped into the JD Wetherspoon operated Cuthbert Brodrick pub. It’s not in the Good Beer Guide, but I was running out of power for my laptop and I guessed (correctly) that Wetherspoons could help with that. Incidentally, the pub is name after the architect who designed Leeds Town Hall and Corn Exchange, it’s positive that Wetherspoons have chosen this as it’s a reminder of his work.

    The pub’s interior, all functional but it’s a relatively small outlet from the chain, although there’s a fair amount of outdoors seating.

    This is under-poured by some margin and the staff really shouldn’t have either served that or let that out. However, the beer was cheap and I couldn’t much be bothered to complain about a small amount of beer, but it’s a shoddy approach from the pub’s management. It’s half a pint (well, not quite) of the Triple Chocoholic from the Saltaire Brewery in Shipley, West Yorkshire. I haven’t had this beer since I visited the Horse & Plough pub in Bingham a couple of years ago, en route to a little adventure in Sheffield.

    The staff were friendly, but the atmosphere was a little sterile in the pub, although it was quite quiet. The choice of beers wasn’t actually bad though, they had a choice of six including the guests of the Daleside Bitter and the Leeds Pale.

    The staff really shouldn’t have let out lime looking like that either, but there we go, I won’t concern myself about it.

    I thought I’d get a quick snack whilst I was in the pub and this was cheap and perfectly acceptable. The pub has run out of tomato sauce (apparently I found the last two sachets) because of delivery problems. There’s something slightly amusing that Wetherspoons is having problems with supply due to what is realistically Brexit, but I won’t veer further into politics here. It would be a cheap point to suggest that the pub could easily source (excuse the near pun) tomato ketchup from local shops as others in the chain have managed to do. It might be against the national policy, but realistically it’s perhaps the sensible solution.

    I have no issues with JD Wetherspoons, especially since I’ve visited so many of them, but this one all felt a bit basic. The staff were though friendly, the various glasses and my plate were collected promptly and I was able to charge my devices which was the main reason that I’d gone in. The cleanliness in the pub was though a bit lax and the under-pouring is very rare from any pub I’m pleased to say. All really quite average, and in places, pretty inadequate and I’m pleased that this is one of the Wetherspoons not in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Leeds – Tapped

    Leeds – Tapped

    I’m still continuing with my little tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds, with this one being Tapped on Boar Lane. Opened in 2013, they try to keep 14 craft keg lines and 13 cask lines open, which should be sufficient for nearly any beer taste.

    The beers are listed above the bar, although it’s perhaps not really the easiest way for customers to try and work out what’s available. I asked at the bar for stouts and mentioned that I’d already had the Millionaire from the Wild Beer Co, so the friendly staff member suggested the Bad Kitty from Brass Castle Brewery. I recalled after ordering it that I’ve had this before, at Brigantes in York on 12 March 2020, on what sadly transpired to be one of the last days that this bar was open. Anyway, I’ve now realised that the beer choice is available on-line, so it is possible to see what they’ve got before arriving at the bar.

    Beers are made on site, which I thought added to the atmosphere in terms of the general feel of the bar.

    It wasn’t that busy during my visit and the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. I was starting to get hungry, but I didn’t realise that the bar was selling pizzas until just before I was about to leave. I’m unsure why they’ve put wine lists on every table, but not beer lists or food menus.

    The Bad Kitty was fine and served at the appropriate temperature, with a chocolate and vanilla taste to it. It was reasonably priced and I thought that the whole experience was positive.

    The reviews of the bar are generally all pretty good and most of the complaints are what I’d consider to be either ridiculous or over-stated. There was an angry person annoyed that they wouldn’t let her in wearing flip flops, and the bar is perhaps quite right to ban these not just for sartorial reasons, but because it’s quite likely some idiot would stand on them. Other complaints are from customers moaning that they were wearing tracksuit bottoms and were refused entry. I’m not one for dress codes (I’m hardly a fashion expert myself if I’m being brutally honest) but the bar doesn’t seem unreasonable in its requirements.

    Anyway, friendly staff, decent beer and a clean environment, all really rather lovely and this is justifiably in the Good Beer Guide as far as I’m concerned (although I can’t imagine that anyone is much bothered by that, at least it keeps me happy). Ideally though, perhaps they should be a little clearer about their food menu and not keep it as something of a secret.

  • Leeds – Whitelock’s Ale House

    Leeds – Whitelock’s Ale House

    And the third in my little pub crawl of Good Beer Guide pubs in Leeds….

    As the sign notes, this is the oldest pub in the city, originally known at the Turk’s Head. I like that they note the number of real ales available and also mention that craft beer is sold. I visited here because the pub was listed in the Good Beer Guide, but if I had seen this sign then I would have popped in anyway.

    It’s located down an alley, but the signage is clear so it’s not difficult to find. I was welcomed at the entrance by a friendly staff member and was told it was quite busy inside and was asked if I would be OK outside. I decided that this was fine, although decided I’d pop inside to have a look at the historic interior. I’m not a fan of outside (insects, rain, too much sun, etc), but the beer barrel that I was seated at was perfectly fine and the weather allowed such outside dining.

    And there it is, an interior not really much changed from the early twentieth century. I was going to take another photo but a staff member looked at me as if I was an idiot, so I thought that this one would suffice. I liked the atmosphere in the pub through, very traditional and the staff all seemed friendly and engaging.

    I’m a fan of John Betjeman, so I consider this great praise.

    Initially, I thought that this beer menu was just a little generic, but then I saw the Mile Zero from Turning Point, who are one of my favourite breweries (I haven’t forgotten their Yellow Matter custard beer which was pure gold, or pure yellow really). Given the quality of this beer, I thought that £2.35 for a third was a bit of a bargain.

    I accidentally ordered a packet of crisps with the beer as food pairing is absolutely important. And, as for the beer, it was beautiful. There was a richness of toffee and it was packed with liquorice flavour as well, with an aftertaste of Werther’s Originals. This was a decadent treat and I was delighted to be able to try it. Really nice.

    The reviews of this pub are very high and even the negative ones are a bit ridiculous, like the person a few weeks ago who was furious that “I waited ten minutes to be served at my table”. It’s not ideal, but perhaps not the end of the world, nor justification for a 1/5 review given the current situation (or indeed perhaps at any time). Another customer gave it 1/5 although he had been going since 1969. Yeah, great, have a bad experience after 50 years of going for a pub and rush to rate them 1/5. Nice.

    So, this is another pub from the Good Beer Guide that I really like. Friendly service, clearly popular with customers and some interesting beers. The prices were lower than I would expect and I felt comfortable throughout, so absolutely recommended.